Digital camera modules are currently being incorporated into a variety of host devices such as, for example, cellular telephones, personal data assistants (PDAs), computers, etc. Such host devices are becoming increasingly more compact and, therefore, permitting less and less space for camera module form factors. Accordingly, host device manufacturers prefer digital camera modules to be small, so that they can be incorporated into the host device without increasing the overall size of the host device. Of course, host device manufacturers also prefer camera modules that capture images of the highest possible quality.
A conventional digital camera module generally includes an integrated image capture device (ICD), passive components, a printed circuit board (PCB), a housing, and a lens. Typically, the ICD and passive components are mounted on the PCB, and then the housing is attached to the PCB so that the ICD and passive components are covered by the bottom of the housing. Then, the lens is mounted on the opposite end of the housing to focus incident light onto an image capture surface of the ICD.
One problem with conventional camera module designs is that they have a relatively large footprint and, therefore, occupy a significant amount of real-estate area on the host device. This is because the base of the housing has to be large enough to cover the ICD and the passive components mounted around the ICD. Further, conventional camera modules typically cannot satisfy small form factor requirements without sacrificing image quality.
It is against this background that a camera module that can satisfy stricter form factor requirements and capture high quality images has been developed.